Hair loss can be triggered by just about anything, ranging from your diet and age to stress levels and heat damage. It can be frustrating figuring out the best course of action if it happens to you, but the good news is, you can give your strands a much-needed nutritional boost with the right hair growth vitamins and supplements.
Just like the rest of our body, our hair requires nutrients like biotin, protein, zinc, and vitamin B-12 to grow strong. To help you learn more about what to consider when shopping for hair growth vitamins, we consulted experts about the efficacy of their favorite nutrients and go-to product recommendations. We also rounded up noteworthy hair growth supplements that are aligned with their expert guidance.
The Top 10 Hair Growth Vitamins
What ingredients should be in hair supplements?
One of the biggest concerns about supplements is what actually ends up in them. The Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate supplements as rigorously as it does traditional drugs, so to be honest, it's completely up to the consumer to read the labels and look into ingredients themselves.
To help you shop smartly, we asked hair experts for their go-to ingredient recommendations, and why they're so effective at promoting healthy hair.
- Biotin is a superhero ingredient well-regarded for the ability to help promote hair growth. When you take a supplement that combines biotin with zinc, it “provides maintenance for normal hair, skin, and nails,” says board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Mona Gohara, M.D.
- Zinc is “an amazing anti-inflammatory and also one of the building blocks of hair,” says Seamus McKernan, a Chicago-based hairstylist and Nioxin Top Artist. Zinc deficiency has even been linked to hair loss, according to Dr. Carrie Lam, M.D., the medical director of Lam Clinic in Tustin, California. Just be careful not to consume too much zinc, or you might inadvertently cause hair loss, she cautions.
- Iron helps stimulate hair growth and is excellent when combined with zinc. Iron “helps with normal function of the immune system, which is helpful for hair growth and maintenance because when your body undergoes stress due to an illness, you can often lose hair afterward as a result of that stress,” explains Gohara.
- Collagen is trendy and effective with boosting hair growth, notes Lam. It also helps improve both nail strength and your skin’s elasticity, which is why the ingredient is commonly found in anti-aging products, too.
- Vitamin E is “a powerful antioxidant that can make your scalp healthier,” says Lam. When your scalp is healthy, you’ll experience hair growth. Vitamin E is great for improving the health of your skin and nails, too, she adds.
Regardless of which ingestible you consume, talking to your doctor before you incorporate new supplements into your daily routine is always a great place to start.
Additionally, trichologist Anabel Kingsley says there’s no “one-size-fits-all” treatment for hair loss, and that the best plan often includes a combination of adding supplements and adjusting your diet to ensure it includes the proper doses of essential nutrients.
How long does it take to see results from hair vitamins?
“Hair regrowth is absolutely not an overnight process,” says Gohara. You’ll usually start to see results within 6 to 12 weeks, but it typically takes up to 24 weeks (six months) to see full results, according to Kinsley.
“Hair cells grow incredibly fast, but as hair is a non-vital tissue, any deficiency will likely first present itself as excessive shedding,” notes Kingsley. “Where hair loss is the result of vitamin or mineral deficiency, supplements can do a world of good.”
Is it worth taking hair vitamins?
As great as these vitamins are for your hair’s health, don’t expect to grow a full mane overnight. It takes months just to start seeing results, and the results usually aren’t as significant as you’d expect. Yes, you will definitely see some improvement if you take these hair growth vitamins daily as directed, but if you have more extreme breakage, thinning, and/or balding, you may want to talk to a trichologist or board-certified doctor about more intensive options.
Now that you've gotten the scoop on these supplements, take a look at some of the best hair growth vitamins you can find on the market right now.
Note: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Please consult your doctor before using any of these products.
1
Derm-Favorite
Hair Growth Supplement
True story: Every time we visit a dermatologist for a skincare appointment or interview, we always make time to ask them their opinion on the best hair growth supplement.
Time after time, the medical experts we speak with (including one of our favorites, Dr. Dendy Engelman, M.D.) name Nutrafol as the best, thanks to its quality ingredients like ashwagandha, marine collagen, and curcumin. It's a little pricey, but its all-natural formula works, according to clinical studies conducted by the brand and researchers from colleges such as Cornell and Rutgers.
We also love that Nutrafol offers four supplements formulated for various needs: Women, Men, Postpartum, and Women’s Balance for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
More: Why We Can't Get Enough of Scalp Massagers
2
For Length and Thickness
Manetabolism Plus Hair Growth Vitamins
We don't just want hair to grow; we want strands that are long and strong. Manetabolism supplements aim to lengthen, strengthen, and make your 'do thicker than ever before.
The enhanced physician-developed formula focuses on more than just hair growth, as it's also a supplement for nails, skin, and the immune system. If you're looking for a multipurpose supplement that's filled with antioxidants, biotin, calcium, and a slew of vitamins to satisfy your beauty needs, this would be it.
3
Best Value
Hair Skin and Nails
Trying to get better hair on a budget? This bottle of 230 gummies from Nature's Bounty will definitely do the trick. These pink, strawberry-flavored gummies don't just taste good — each one contains 2,500 micrograms of hair-strengthening biotin.
They also contain antioxidant vitamins C and E to give your hair, nails, and skin an overall nutritional boost. Nature’s Bounty recommends you skip taking a multivitamin when using their supplement, or at the very least, alternate the days on which you consume them. However, if you’re keen on still taking your multivitamin and the supplement, the brand says you can alternate between the two products.
4
Growth-Boosting and Calming
Hair Supplement for Thinning Hair
Celebrity-favorite OUAI may be best known for their styling products, but they have amazing hair growth vitamins as well. Their supplements are infused with amino acids, biotin, and silica, all of which combine to help strengthen thinning hair.
There’s also a blend of omegas 3 and 6 to make your hair super shiny with regular use, along with ashwagandha, a herb that reportedly has calming effects.
5
Best Solo Biotin Supplement
Biotin for Hair, Skin & Nails
This trusty bottle of hair growth vitamins from Sports Research, formulated with coconut oil, is both affordable and effective. The popular ingredient is ideal for moisturizing and repairing your strands, which can help you grow long and shiny hair.
In addition to reviving hair growth, biotin has been known to foster healthy nails and support glowing skin. It's great to use in conjunction with other supplements if the ones that you already take doesn't already contain the ingredient.
6
Celeb Favorite
Hair Vitamins
Thanks to a slew of celebrity endorsements, SugarBearHair Vitamins have gone viral on Instagram.
This daily gummy contains ingredients like biotin and folic acid, which are proven to help aid in your body's ability to grow hair and nails with less breakage. As a bonus: This hair growth supplement is infused with zinc to help you maintain healthy, strong nails.
7
Best for Hair Shedding
Keratin Hair Booster
If you leave a trail of hair behind you everywhere you go, then you're going to want to opt for these supplements from Reserveage.
This hair-boosting (and nail-strengthening) multivitamin is packed with strand-fortifying keratin to give your tresses a shinier finish, while repairing them from root to end. It boasts 3,000 micrograms of biotin to help your hair grow as fast as possible.
8
Best Nutritional Blend
Recharging Complex Supplements
Nioxin, a beauty industry favorite for shampoos and topical treatments to boost hair growth, launched these supplements to complement the brand's stellar line of products.
Formulated with biotin, zinc, and iron, these pills feature everything you need to encourage healthy-growing hair and prevent hair thinning, according to Gohara. “I like that you only need to take one tablet a day as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle,” she says.
9
An Extra-Strength Option
Hair Growth Supplement for Women
We love Viviscal, and the brand's extra strength option also comes highly recommended by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth Bahar Houshmand, M.D.
There are so many things that factor into hair loss, and Viviscal combats them all. This twice-daily vitamin was rated the number-one best-selling hair growth supplement in the U.S. based on data from IRI, a research firm. Studies from 2012 and 2015 also show that Viviscal helps prevent hair thinning and promotes hair growth.
It features AminoMar (a growth-stimulating marine complex), biotin, zinc, vitamin C, horsetail extract, and iron to nourish hair from the inside out, and improve existing hair growth.
10
Unique Formula
Red Carpet Hair & Nails Formula
HUM's hair growth vitamin formula contains something that most others don't: blackcurrant seed oil. It's an omega-6 fatty acid that can help encourage both hair growth and healthy skin cell development.
These supplements are packed with plenty of other scientifically proven ingredients that are all sustainably sourced, including biotin, para-aminobenzoic acid, and Fo-Ti, which together promote a healthy scalp and hair growth, as well as maintain your hair’s natural color.
Katie McBroom
Beauty Editor
Katie McBroom is an award-winning content creator and beauty/grooming expert.
Jennifer Hussein
Beauty Editor
Jennifer is the Beauty Editor for BestProducts.com, where she’s testing out everything from the latest lip gloss to the craziest skincare trend sweeping the online beauty-verse.
Nicole Saunders
Beauty Editor
Nicole Saunders is the Beauty Editor at BestProducts.com, where she oversees coverage on all things beauty.
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